The Huo Clan
However, right now, while Huo Long was still a poor youth, he hadn't gone 30 miles east yet and became a poor youth, but rather was still an innocent child in a poor home.
Xue Bai wanted to take advantage of this time and build a relationship with Huo Long.
Huo Long was a kid right now, and his future clan exterminating Child of the Plane self was still years into the future.
Knowing how to take advantage of this, Xue Bai thought about the various methods he could adopt in order to get closer to the boy.
But after some brainstorming, Xue Bai eventually realized some times simplest was best and decided to try and help out the Huo Clan.
This way, not only could he befriend Huo Long but also the Huo Clan members.
While currently, he was M.I.A, the Huo Clan founder wasn't dead. But rather, right now, he was locked in a secret realm, unable to break out.
However, that wasn't permanent, and he would break out in about 30 years' time. After that, Huo Long and his grandfather would reunite on the Central Continent.
By then, Huo Long was a powerhouse in the early parts of the Xiantian Great Realm, while his grandfather had a Spirit Fusion realm cultivation base.
But no matter how powerful the founder would be in the future, his clan was still in dire straits.
So if Xue Bai could relieve the Huo Clan's difficulty, he could also befriend the Huo Clan founder and Huo Long at the same time.
It was hitting two birds with one stone!
To accomplish this, Xue Bai brought some practical cultivation items that could help rebuild a clan along with him.
The specific things he brought along were things like the blueprints of a formation that could create a Spiritual Qi Gathering Formation, a few middle Yellow-grade natural treasures that could help the younger generation of the Huo Clan cultivate, and a few spiritual seeds that could potentially grow into money-making crops.
All of the cultivation items that Xue Bai brought along were nothing to his father, but they would mean everything to a clan struggling to eat sometimes.
After all, Huo Long had previously planned just to sell the spatial ring that Feng Huang was in. That showed just how poor his father and clan were.
Also, another key thing to note is that Huo Long had just turned ten and would be awakening his Martial Veins next year. So Xue Bai also planned to send messages back and forth with the protagonist to ensure that their relationship didn't fall off after their separation.
Huo Long's crippling would happen during a normal secret realm incursion in a little over two years after his awakening, which only allowed him to cultivate for a little over two years.
With his talents, Huo Long was able to just barely reach the Muscle Nourishing Realm.
After that, Huo Long would stay a cripple for another year and a half until the year 975, when both the plot began, and he was able to start cultivating again.
However, Huo Long had a special cultivation technique, and when he started cultivating, he was already in the Qi Sea realm. So Xue Bai would have around five years to become sworn brothers with Huo Long before his meteoric rise would start.
After planning the encounter with the protagonist for a bit longer, Xue Bai began to tire out. So without any care, he closed his eyes and knocked out for the day.
Being cautious in this scenario would make no sense. If Huo Chen wanted to kill him, what could Xue Bai, the mortal, do to stop him?
So that was why he was able to fall asleep so quickly and without care.
And after a refreshing sleep, Xue Bai was awoken by a shaking from Huo Chen.
"Young Duke, we have arrived." Huo Chen gently said.
Waking up, Xue Bai wiped the tiredness out of his eyes before looking at his new surroundings.
Currently, in front of him was an expansive behemoth-like city with towering thick metal walls.
Looking at the huge walls, Xue Bai didn't know what to say for a moment.
Whenever he read a cultivation novel and saw the cliche description of "towering metal walls that seemingly pierced the heavens, " Xue Bai always ignored it, thinking it to only be flowery words.
But now, looking at a genuine set of towering metal walls that seemingly pierced the heavens, Xue Bai was left in awe.
The wall in front of Xue Bai was easily a few dozen meters high and several meters thick as well. However, that wasn't what left Xue Bai in awe, but inside the sheer distance, this wall covered.
As the border city, Frontier City naturally had to protect the border of the Great Xuan Empire. And one of the best ways to protect a border was through a wall.
But, the border of the Empire was large, excessively so. Yet this huge silver behemoth of a wall stretched on for as long as Xue Bai could see. And while he was skeptical, Xue Bai couldn't help but think that this wall covered the entire border of the Empire.
With that in mind, Xue Bai's mind only had one thought running through it.
How much Spiritual Ore went into the wall?
Coupled with Frontier City having its own separate wall that corraled itself between the two skyscraper-tall walls, Xue Bai couldn't help but remember a particular show with walls.
Huo Chen, who was just about to motion his Bear Griffin to fly down, turned and saw the look on Xue Bai's face.
Xue Bai's face full of surprise and awe reminded him of himself when he first moved here a few hundred years ago.
"Yes, Young Duke, the walls are the crowning achievement of Frontier City. Our Clan at first had also looked down upon the city, but after seeing them, we were amazed too." Huo Chen laughed merrily.
'It seems that the Young Duke is a curious kid.'
Xue Bai was indeed curious about everything and started to fire off questions to Huo Chen about Frontier City.
But unlike Xue Bai, the twins were rather indifferent to the situation. Not only had they been to Frontier City before, but also, the only thing that excited them was cultivation.
The group calmly flew over the security check that was stationed at the entrance of the city and went over to the Huo Clan manor.
What a joke! Who would dare check Xue Bai, the heir to a Duke?
It was a blatant spit in the face to the Duke of Snow, and no guard dared to do so. Also, Huo Chen was even stronger than the City Lord at Frontier City, so even if a reckless guard wanted to forcibly search Xue Bai, no one would be able to do so.
The Huo Clan manor was deep in the center of Frontier City, just a few kilometers away from the City Lord's own manor, but while it was in the core area of the city, it wasn't very grand.
As Xue Bai looked at the Huo Clan manor from above, he could see that it was noticeably worse than either the estate where he lived or Li Huo's manor.
However, he knew that the Huo Clan were trying their best with where they lived now and their financial situation, and he didn't say anything derisive aloud.
It was unneeded and insulting, especially when Huo Chen was the man guaranteeing his safety.
Sadly, Huo Chen did notice the look in Xue Bai's eyes. But the man also kept his own mouth shut and didn't point the Young Duke out.
He wouldn't gain anything from such a stupid move.
But he did lose himself in his thoughts at this.
Huo Chen was the oldest son of the Huo Clan founder's brother and was alive during their peak. So he also experienced the pinnacle of housing, and he knew firsthand that it was a horrible thing to adjust to.
It was like going from heaven straight down to hell.
Thankfully he lived in the Duke's estate and didn't have it as bad as his cousins and their children, who had to live there permanently.
Funnily enough, as Huo Chen was reminiscing, Xue Bai misunderstood the melancholy look in his eyes.
Then to comfort the man somewhat, Xue Bai patted him on the back and said, "Things can only go up from here, Commander!"
Huo Chen could only laugh awkwardly in response. He hadn't expected to be comforted by a child less than a tenth of his age.
After the group flew over the Huo Clan manor, they descended from their height to the ground below and then jumped off their mounts.
However, since the Bear Griffin was too large for Xue Bai to jump off comfortably, he was stuck on it.
Huo Chen noticed this, thankfully, and moved to assist the Young Duke.
"Young Duke, you can jump off the mount now. I'll help you land." Huo Chen calmly said.
Xue Bai trusted Huo Chen and jumped off the Bear Griffin without hesitation.
Quickly he felt the wind pierce against his skin as he fell from the top of the 4-meter-tall demonic beast, but before he landed, Huo Chen caught him.
Huo Chen conjured a gust of wind that let the Young Duke land to stop Xue Bai's momentum and allow him to land safely.
Finally, on the ground once again, Xue Bai patted his robes and picked off the many large pieces of fur that attached themselves to him.
"Commander Huo, will you show us in?" Xue Bai asked after he adjusted his appearance.
Even though they had landed just outside the Huo Clan manor, a small crowd had already started to gather around them.
And while being the center of attention was nice, Xue Bai was getting really intense stares from some of the men, and he wanted to leave.
It was giving him shivers.
"Give me one moment, Young Duke. I'm waiting for my cousin to come to greet us." Huo Chen replied.
However, he paused for a moment before continuing, "When someone as important as you arrives at a household of lower importance, their head should come to greet you at the door."
While he was the Young Duke's subordinate in a sense, he was also his elder. And as someone who loved the younger generation, Huo Chen loved to find any chance he could to help them, whether it be through cultivation tips or worldly knowledge in this scenario.
"No, commander, I know about greeting etiquette, but I'm getting some very disturbing gazes from the crowd. So I'd rather not stay in the open much longer." Xue Bai said as he pointed to a rather impudent man who looked at Xue Bai like the boy was a naked girl.
After Huo Chen heard that, he was enraged beyond belief.
This was a Young Duke!
How dare a random bumpkin living in Frontier City look at him with such eyes. And his anger peaked once he looked at the person that Xue Bai had pointed at.
Huo Chen simply raised his hand and pointed at the lustrous man specifically.
Then willing the wind element in the air, Huo Chen's index finger quickly formed a small wind ball, and without any qualms, he sent it off.
The ball of wind flew through the air like a jet and collided with the man's chest.
Instantly the man was like a kite that had its strings cut, and he was sent flying backward. Then, as if he were a ragdoll being controlled by a toddler, the man flew backward hundreds of meters before he eventually lost momentum and skidded through the concrete like it was mud.
Silence ensued.
However, it didn't last long, as the guttural cries of the man broke it.
Coughing, wheezing, and a myriad of different painful shouts echoed from the man who was almost killed by Huo Chen's simple wind ball.
Seeing that the effect he wanted was created, Huo Chen scanned the rest of the crowd coldly.
"The Young Duke is bothered by your stares. Leave!" Huo Chen shouted. While he did this, Huo Chen also released the pressure of his cultivation base into the air.
With the extreme show of strength and the pressure of a Law Manifestation realm cultivation being unleashed on the crowd, no one dared to stay anymore, and the crowd quickly dissolved.
The strongest people in Frontier City were the Patriarch of the Huo Clan and the City Lord.
However, they were merely in the early stages of the Law Engraving realm. But those were the peak powers in the city.
The people in the crowd had far lower cultivations, with most of them still in the 5 physical realms.
Therefore no one in the group could withstand Huo Chen's pressure, and they ran away to not further anger the powerhouse protecting the small androgynous-looking child.
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